Jaclyn Lee Ties for Fifth at NCAA Championships

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STILLWATER, Okla. – Jaclyn Lee, a junior on the Ohio State women’s golf team, carded a 2-over-par 74 to tie for fifth at NCAA Championships, marking the highest finish by an individual in program history, Monday at Karsten Creek Golf Club. The native of Calgary, Alberta finished the tournament with a 4-under 284 in a tie with Florida State’s Morgane Metraux, four shots back of tournament medalist Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest.

Lee jumped out to a hot start with birdies on her first two holes on her way to a front-nine 1-under 35 and, after bouncing back from a bogey on 10 with another birdie on 12, found herself at 7-under with a one-stroke lead on Kupcho and Alabama’s Cheyenne Knight. However, bogeys at 15 and 16 and a double-bogey at 17 put her four strokes back of Kupcho. Lee was then able to get up and down for birdie from the greenside bunker on 18 to finish in a tie for fifth.

“Recording the best finish in school history means a lot to me,” Lee said. “It would’ve been great to go out there and win it today but I put myself in some difficult situations on the golf course and recovered on the last hole. I played my heart out and that’s all I can ask for.”

Kristen White previously tallied the Buckeyes’ best individual finish at NCAA Championships, a tie for sixth, in the 2003 and 2004 NCAA Championships. Lee also shattered the Buckeyes’ individual single-season scoring record with a 71.14, ahead of the previous-best by Allison Hanna, a 72.58 in 2003-04.

“I am extremely proud of how Jaclyn competed this week,” Therese Hession, Ohio State head coach, said. “Her progress this year has been phenomenal and I know she will continue to get even better. I’m so excited for her and the future.”

Lee finished a phenomenal tournament in which she opened with consecutive even-par 72’s followed by a 6-under 66 to sit tied for third heading into her final-round 74. The junior posted the second-best total in par-4 scoring at 2-under for the tournament and notched the third-most birdies with 18.